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Syracuse, Arizona State Lead 2025 Surprises on the Recruiting Trail

Fran Brown and Kenny Dillingham are off to fast starts recruiting the 2025 class. Who else is punching above their weight on the trail?

Mike Farrell| May 19, 2024 (Updated: July 24, 2025)
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Dec 4
New Syracuse Head Coach Fran Brown. 

Five teams with surprisingly good high school recruiting classes so far in 2025….


1. Syracuse

— Have we seen recruiting like this in our lifetime from Syracuse? Ok, that may be dramatic, but Fran Brown is bringing back memories of the late 1990s Syracuse recruiting efforts, which were epic. His class won’t finish top 10 or 15 but a top 25 class for Syracuse would be amazing.

Dec 5, 2023; Syracuse, New York, USA; New Syracuse Orange head football coach Fran Brown addresses the crowd during a timeout in the first half of a basketball game between the Syracuse Orange and the Cornell Big Red at the JMA Wireless Dome.

2. Arizona State

— Kenny Dillingham inherited a mess, an absolute mess. But the man can recruit and has Arizona State landing and staying in battles for players they currently have no business being in with.

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham reacts during their 27-15 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the second half at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Sept. 9, 2023.

3. Wake Forest

— Dave Clawson is a great coach who recruits at a high level, with about as many disadvantages as any Power Four program on the East Coast. This is impressive.

Nov 12, 2022; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Dave Clawson calls out to an official during the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Truist Field.

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4. Texas Tech

— We knew Joey McGuire could recruit Texas. But did we know he’d be this effective? He’s higher than 95% of Texas kids between this cycle and last, and many of them are well above-average players.

Texas Tech's head coach Joey McGuire calls for a timeout against Oklahoma in their last Big 12 home football game, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022, Jones AT&T Stadium.

5. UCF

— Gus Malzahn has always been able to recruit, but he’s taken things to a higher level since UCF’s move to the Power Four and is putting together a Top 25 class for a program that could be a sleeping giant in their new conference.

Sep 30, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights head coach Gus Malzahn walks the sideline during the second half against the Baylor Bears at FBC Mortgage Stadium.
Category: News, RecruitingTag: Dave Clawson, Fran Brown, Kenny Dillingham, Mike Farrell, Texas Tech Red Raiders Recruiting
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